In 2012 Gujarat government "asked" Essar to pay for advertisement praising Modi

MJ Akbar

By A Representative
In a major revelation, "The Caravan", a journal devoted to politics and culture, has said that Narendra Modi as chief minister of Gujarat had asked in 2012 the top business house Essar to pay for an advertisement-cum-writeup to a Noida-based weekly on Gujarat's development under him. It is quite another thing that the business house politely turned down Modi's plea.
Based on internal emails of Essar, which is a major Indian player in infrastructure and and energy, the journal reveals that the advertisement was to be accompanied by a special supplement. It was meant for "Sunday Guardian", founded by journalist-turned-politician MJ Akbar, currently one of the BJP spokespersons.
The journal suggests, while publishing special supplements on a given topic "as special vehicles for more targeted advertising" on range of topics on industries, events, or specific topics, to those on government bodies is not new, this time a business house was officially asked by a Modi official to do the job.
"The newspaper had approached Essar and offered the company advertising space in the supplement. Interestingly, in its communication with potential advertisers, the newspaper also sent out a letter from the Gujarat information and broadcast department that reiterated the support of the state government to the supplement", the journal said.
The letter, reportedly signed by the principal secretary in the information and broadcasting department, stated, “Here we see an opportunity for our industries, government, corporate, private sector and business houses to be part of this special supplement in promoting our achievements and conveying the message of Gujarat to the readers of this newspaper.”
"The special issue was to coincide with the Pravasi Bharatiya Divas on January 8, 2012", the journal says, adding, "Its copies, according to the email exchange, were to be distributed at the BM Birla Auditorium in Jaipur, where an event was being hosted to commemorate the occasion."
The letter is quoted as saying that the supplement would "designate” Modi as the “economic reformer of India, in the mould of the famous architect of economic reform of China, Paramount Leader ‘Deng Xiaoping’.”
The newspaper’s chief operating officer, Kamal Shah, reportedly also wrote to Essar in the supporting letter: “We will also be highlighting that Chief Minister; Mr. Narendra Modi will one day transform India into an economic superpower.” MJ Akbar wrote a separate letter to Shashi Ruia, the chairman and co-founder of the Essar Group, asking for advertisement.
However, Essar “politely declined” to release an advertisement.

The farmer's burden: How oil, war, and climate are rewriting the price of food

By Vikas Meshram The scorching flames of the Middle East conflict are now slowly reaching the kitchens of ordinary people. The true price of this war is paid in daily markets, vegetable shops, and in the shattered minds of farmers. Expensive crude oil, skyrocketing fertilizer prices, and rising agricultural costs are together creating the conditions for global food inflation — and this crisis is directly tied to what people eat and drink every day.

Economic nationalism under strain as Indian corporates turn to America

By Sandeep Pandey* U.S. federal prosecutors withdrew a criminal case involving allegations that Gautam Adani had bribed officials in India to secure solar energy projects, stating that they lacked sufficient evidence. Gautam Adani and his nephew Sagar Adani also settled a civil fraud case with the Securities and Exchange Commission by paying a fine of around ₹180 crore without admitting wrongdoing. In addition, Adani Enterprises reportedly deposited around ₹2,750 crore into the U.S. Treasury to resolve allegations that it had violated U.S. sanctions on Iran through purchases of Iranian liquefied petroleum gas (LPG).

India’s heatwave crisis: How concrete cities are fueling climate emergency

By Rajkumar Sinha* According to recent studies, urban areas are witnessing a much sharper rise in temperatures than rural regions. The planet is currently heading toward an additional 1.9°C of warming — far beyond the target envisioned under the Paris Agreement . A team of climate scientists associated with the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change has noted that India’s average temperature increased by nearly 0.9°C during the decade between 2015 and 2024 compared to the early twentieth century (1901–1930). In western and northeastern India, the hottest day of the year has already become 1.5°C to 2°C warmer since the 1950s.

Counterview

Search This Blog